Now that Eric Smith, (not real name) a 17-year-old foster child, has been declared a dependent of the court, he is on a mission to change the laws that regulate CPS. “No one should have to go through what I did,” he said, citing his nine months in CPS custody last year. “They treated me like I was a villain, instead of a victim. Why? Because they can.” Eric wants to see that stop. Just shy of 18, Eric is not yet able to fully tell his story. But that is not stopping him from writing letters to political officials and child welfare groups, recounting his experiences and proposing legislative changes. And what he can tell of his story, he does. On April 1 2011, an emergency CPS social work

 After years of holding the dubious distinction of tearing apart families at one of the highest rates in California, Sacramento County finally has brought its rate of child removal in line with the state average, the Sacramento Bee reported Monday.  But the Bee left out some good news: The two key measures of safety used by the federal government show that, as entries into foster care declined, child safety improved. Apparently even with budget cuts, setting clear standards and doing a better job of weeding out false reports and trivial cases has given workers more time to focus on finding children in real danger. One would think the fact that Sacramento County used to be the child remo

The qualities desired in Sacramento’s new city manager were made public at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting. The council voted to conduct a national search using a recruiting firm at its Jan. 25 meeting. The search was delayed after the council members decided not to discuss the characteristics they wanted in candidates as scheduled at the Feb. 22 meeting. Executive Recruiter Stuart Satow of CPS Human Resource Services read the combined qualifications being sought by the City Council and Mayor Kevin Johnson. Going forward, Satow said he will condense the two pages of bullet points into a brochure which highlights the top qualities that will be issued to applicants. “It’s a step in t

It is amazing to me all the road blocks that Sacramento County CPS puts up to make it nearly impossible for a parent to assert their rights and fight for what is rightfully theirs--their children.  In the past four years I have seen, heard, and experienced things that would ignite fear and furor in Americans…if only they knew about it.  However, these actions of which I speak are closely guarded under the cloak of confidentiality that hides Juvenile Dependency Court and involuntary child custody proceedings from the public.  At first guess, you assume that this so-called “confidentiality” is in place to protect the children in these cases.  However, it doesn’t take long for a person to rea

If you are interested in adopting a child, the first step is to educate yourself about adoption and become familiar with the various types of adoption available to you. The most common types of adoptions are: Foster adoptions – The children were placed into child protective custody for their safety and cannot be returned to their birth parents or cared for by extended family. Domestic private adoptions – The children are not in foster care and the adoption is typically handled by a lawyer and the two parties; birth parents and adoptive family. International adoptions – The children are from a foreign country and, again, the adoption is typically handled by a lawyer or international adop

Bias against the birth mother of Amariana Crenshaw led Sacramento County Child Protective Services workers to “discount” her concerns that Amariana was being abused in her foster home, according to an internal review released by CPS Thursday. Amariana was taken from her parents, only to die under mysterious circumstances in a foster home with a long history of serious problems. That is the lead that should have begun the Sacramento Bee’s story today about the release of CPS’ internal investigation into Amariana’s death. But that would contradict the birth parent-bashing “master narrative” that has dominated child welfare coverage in the Bee (as is discussed in this previous post). So no

No one aspires to be a foster child. No child wants to live in a stranger’s home. No brother or sister likes having their family torn apart; losing contact with siblings. No teen chooses an unknown future. Yet, every month, over 2,000 children statewide are placed into protective custody through the foster care system. Over 150 of these children are from Sacramento County. Foster care is designed to be a temporary safety net for children who are unable to live safely with their birth families. Children enter foster care because they have been abused or neglected or have experienced other family problems such as substance abuse, mental illness or a parent’s incarceration. A primary goal

Sacramento is now California’s capital in more ways than one.Data released today by the National Coalition for Child Protection Reform show that Sacramento County is the child removal capital of California. Among the state’s larger counties, Sacramento County takes away proportionately more children than any other, when the number of children taken away is compared to the number of impoverished children in each county. Sacramento takes children at a rate nearly double the average for these counties. NCCPR released its latest California Rate of Removal Index Monday. It’s available on our website here. The Index shows that in recent years, much of California has made remarkable progress i

There have been many articles in the Sacramento Bee recently about the fact that CPS is losing all of their funding, the State of CA is not giving them money, and terrifying people by telling them children will be in more danger because there won't be enough people to ensure child safety. However, after researching statistics, it became clear to me that Sacramento County Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and Child Protective Services (CPS) are crying wolf just so they have another excuse for their incompetency.  CPS is in desperate need of a "way out". They are blaming their failures on a lack of money because of recent funding cuts instead of taking responsibility and being a

As a former victim of domestic violence I have experienced a bias within the juvenile court system. The victims are often penalized and have there families destroyed and children removed from their loving homes. To worsen the matter victims are then placed on the Central Index , which is national, making it impossible to work with children. Children ripped away from their homes are in my opinion, subjected to Radical Attachment Disorder as the bonds between siblings and other immediate family members are broken over the course of months or years making it much easier for them to be adopted out. Victims of domestic violence are ordered to go to classes and counseling that I feel are in con